Skin Deep
by boswifedeb
Summary: Matt and CJ all called on to help the LAPD with yet another case - the gruesome murders of four truck drivers. Nope, don't own the characters, just taking them out for a spin. Rated T for violence and adult situations.
1. Chapter 1

**Skin Deep**

****This story immediately follows "Spark of Insanity".****

**CHAPTER 1**

"Alright, you can open your eyes now." CJ looked at Matt's face and wasn't disappointed when she saw his reaction to the truck. "WHOO HOO!" He walked over to it, and ran his hand down the side, then opened the driver's side door and checked it out. Looking back over at CJ he said, "It's exactly the same. How did you manage to do that?"

"Well, the day I went to get my replacement Navigator I talked to the salesman that took care of you when you ordered the first truck. He still had the paperwork with all of the specifics, so he just ordered the same thing again." She was thrilled to finally get to give him the truck. It had been a long six weeks of recovery for Matt after he was nearly killed when his ex-fiancé had hired someone to put a bomb under his "dream truck" as he had called it. After suffering with a broken leg, concussion, and an arm that was broken in two places and required pins, he was now free from the cast on his leg, but still had a couple of more weeks to go on the arm. He had the cast on his leg removed the day before and had been itching to go to the dealership to order another truck. CJ's Navigator had been parked right next to his truck in the parking garage and had been destroyed as well.

Matt walked back over to CJ, taking her into his arms and giving her a kiss that was sure to be memorable. When the pair finally came up for air, he brushed her hair from her face and smiled. "Thanks, babe, it's absolutely perfect."

"So when are we going for a ride?" She dangled the keys in front of him.

"How about now?" He took her by the hand and went around the truck to open the passenger door for her and then jumped in the driver's side. He looked over at her and grinned as he started the engine.

Luis Sanchez stuck his head into Lt. Michael Hoyt's office. "Sir, I hate to bother you…"

"What?! What is it this time, Sanchez? How am I ever supposed to get all of this paperwork done…?" Hoyt stopped himself, closed his eyes, and counted to ten. He looked back up at the young officer. "Sorry, this stupid budget paperwork has me going crazy. What did you need?"

"There's a call for you on line one – there's been another truck stop murder." He ducked back out of the door before Hoyt had a chance to respond. He dreaded the onslaught of paperwork that the lieutenant was forced to fill out every year, trying to justify his division's budget.

Hoyt picked up the phone. "Lt. Hoyt. Where is it? Same as the other three?" He sighed. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. What does that mean?! It means as soon as I can get there!" He hung up, picked up his coat, and headed out the door. On his way to the parking garage he thought about Houston. He was supposed to have gotten the cast off of his leg yesterday. He wondered if the private investigator was able to take a case now or at least consult on one. As he got into his car, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Matt's number. He could sure use some help. The call he had just received made the fourth murder of a truck driver in the last two weeks, each one killed in the same way. Houston answered his phone.

"Hey, Hoyt! How's it goin'?" Matt seemed to be in a really good mood, and Hoyt hated to ruin that for him but was desperate for help.

"Not worth a damn. Did you get the cast off of your leg?" He was praying that the answer was yes.

"Yeah, sure did. And guess what? CJ got me another truck, just like the one that got blown up. We're out for a spin right now." Houston sounded as happy as a teenager with his first car. Michael couldn't help but smile. The man had been through a lot in the last couple of months but you would never know it from the sound of his voice.

"Good. Do you feel up to taking a spin up to the Little Bison Truck Stop off of the 405? I could use some help if you do." God, he hoped he felt like it.

"Sure. It'll be about thirty minutes or so, is that okay?" Matt looked over at CJ who nodded.

"That's great. I really appreciate it. See you there." The weary police detective was counting himself as fortunate. Houston had helped the department out many times over the years and had a well-deserved reputation as the best detective around bar none. He also happened to be Michael Hoyt's best friend, although that hadn't come easily. They had several disagreements and altercations before Hoyt decided to back off and give the man a chance to prove his reputation with the department was well-earned. He depended on Matt a lot these days, just as his predecessor, Vince Novelli had during his time at the department. Novelli had been injured in the line of duty while working on a case with Houston. Due to his injuries, he was forced to retire and had moved to Hawaii with his family to start an Italian restaurant with his mother Rosa. He had recently worked with Hoyt and Roy Houston, Matt's uncle, to discover and catch the person responsible for the bombing of Houston's truck and the injuries that resulted. Novelli and Hoyt were now good friends and had Houston to thank for it.

The lieutenant pulled into the truck stop and walked over to the crime scene: an 18-wheeler that was surrounded by the familiar yellow tape. There were three officers there preserving the scene. He heard the honk of a horn, and looked over his shoulder at Houston who had just pulled into the parking lot. As he and CJ made their way over to Hoyt he was all smiles. Matt, dressed in faded blue jeans, a t-shirt, baseball cap, and cowboy boots didn't look like the millionaire that he was. "Sorry to take you two away from a joy ride, but I need some help. This is the fourth truck driver who has been found murdered in two weeks."

"Yeah, I heard about that on the news." Matt pulled a leather glove out of his back pocket and carefully stepped under the crime scene tape right behind Hoyt who was putting on a pair of gloves. CJ stayed where she was. The two men walked over to the truck as Matt put the glove on his left hand – he couldn't put one on the right because of the cast that was still on his arm. He reached up and carefully opened the passenger door of the semi. There was blood on the driver's seat. After looking carefully to make sure he wouldn't damage any evidence, he swung up into the cab, careful not to touch anything with his right hand. He looked back at the sleeper compartment. "Ohhhh, boy. Not good." He stepped toward the driver's seat and stuck out his left hand to Michael, who looked somewhat awkward about getting up in the cab. "No, I don't want to hurt you…" He tried to swing up like Houston had, but ended up busting his butt on the pavement. "You alright?" Matt stepped to the edge of the cab and held out his hand again. "You're not going to hurt me, Michael, come on up." The policeman reluctantly took the offered hand and was surprised at the strength of the pull that followed. Then he turned and saw what Matt had seen.

"Okay, the first thing that comes to my mind is that this took some time." Matt looked at Hoyt who appeared ready to vomit.

"My God, how can anyone do something like that? You would think that after all of these years I would get used to it."

Matt shook his head and said, "If you ever do, that's the time to quit." The lieutenant looked at the carnage in the cramped sleeper compartment. There on the mattress was a man, or what was left of him. He had literally been skinned, just like an animal. The muscles had been cut away and laid to the side to reveal the skeleton and his internal organs had been removed and laid out around the body, much like the frame of a photograph. "I'm thinking that this person probably has some knowledge of hunting in order to be able to skin him like that."

Hoyt nodded. "I'll take your word for that; I've never been hunting in my life."

They continued to look around but didn't see any sign of a weapon. "They must have taken the knife with them, I don't see one." Matt had ducked down to look under the mattress. Everything in the storage bins underneath it was covered in blood that stood a couple of inches deep. He stood back up and looked at the ceiling of the compartment. "All this padding in here is a noise barrier. With the combination of that and the engines that are constantly idling here, I doubt if anyone heard anything." He turned and looked at the front of the cab and noticed the key chain that dangled from the ignition. "Now that's nasty." Hoyt turned to see what he was looking at and saw the keychain, complete with a left ear hanging from it. "I didn't hear anything about THAT on the news." He looked at Hoyt for an answer.

"The department didn't want to give out that piece of information – just in case some nut came forward and tried to take credit for it."

Matt nodded, then crouched down for a better look. He stood back up and looked at the left side of the victim's head. "Just one problem though: the ear on the keychain doesn't belong to this guy. He's got a lighter complexion."

Hoyt nodded. "The killer has been leaving the ear from his previous victim at the next crime scene, so this should belong to Arturo Montevideo, the last victim."

Matt took another look around. "I'm not seeing anything else, how about you?"

Hoyt moved toward the door of the cab and carefully lowered himself down to the parking lot and watched as Matt swung down using only his left hand on the grab bar. "You look like you've done that a time or two."

The private investigator smiled and replied, "Yep, many, many moons ago. Used to help out with the tanker trucks some when I was in college." Matt's dad had owned an oil company as had he in later years.

"So you actually drove something this big?" Hoyt was surprised that the heir to an estate worth millions had worked at such a job.

"Yep, Daddy would put me to work wherever help was needed. Of course some of the combines we used in the corn fields were bigger than this." He grinned at Hoyt who had never set foot on anything approaching a farm until he visited Houston's ranch. The two men went back under the crime scene tape. Matt put his arm around CJ. "Do you want me to come on up to your office and look at the rest of the files?"

Hoyt looked up to see the CSI's pulling into the lot. "I would sure appreciate your help, Houston. I'm buried under bureaucratic bull- er, budget mess and I'm not sure if I'll ever get done with it."

"Alright then, CJ do you want to go back to the house or do you want to come along?" He put the glove back in his pocket.

"Oh, I guess I'll tag along and see if I can help you out." She started walking toward the truck.

"By the way, thanks for helping me out back there. Landing on that blacktop didn't feel too good." The police detective rubbed his back.

"Well thanks for not making a Michael Jackson joke about my one glove." He winked at Hoyt as he walked toward the truck. "See ya there."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Matt and CJ walked into the police precinct and were greeted by Bob Peterson who was manning the front desk. "Houston! Good to see ya up and about! How much longer on the arm?"

"Hi, Bob. Thanks. They say a couple more weeks if everything goes good. We're supposed to be meeting Hoyt upstairs." He took the visitor badges that the sergeant handed to him and walked with CJ to the elevator. On the ride up the couple talked about Hoyt.

"He is sure stressed out. Poor guy. That budget mess is dragging him down." CJ said exactly what Matt had been thinking. "Not to mention these murders."

Getting off of the elevator and turning to the right heading toward the lieutenant's office, they heard him yelling before they even got there. "Sanchez, I've told you time after time, DO NOT move any of the papers on my desk. They are just exactly where I can find what I need. Now I've gotta dig through there to find the case files for Houston to look at!" The exasperated detective stormed back into his office. CJ and Matt exchanged a look with Sanchez, who said, "Good luck in there."

Matt knocked on the door and stuck his head inside. "It's just me, don't shoot." He gave Hoyt a goofy grin as he walked through.

"I'm tempted to shoot somebody. They come in and move stuff around all the time and I spend…"

Matt had reached over and grabbed a stack of folders. "Is this what you're looking for?" Hoyt sat down and shook his head yes.

"Michael, you need to calm down. This isn't good for you – or anyone else around here for that matter." CJ walked over and sat in the chair in front of his desk.

"It's all this budget mess, CJ. They expect me to do my regular work, which I rarely have enough time for, plus all of this mess." He picked up a handful of papers.

"May I?" CJ held out her hand and he passed them to her. She looked through them. "You know, I think I can help you out here. Would you like me to try?"

He gave her an incredulous look. "Really?"

"Sure. After all, I used to help run a Fortune 500 company. It's gotta be easier than that."

Matt took the stack of folders and wandered over to the couch, already poring through the first file. After thirty minutes he looked up to see CJ and Hoyt both working on the budget papers and Hoyt much calmer than he had been. He went back to studying the cases and by the time he had worked his way through them, CJ and Hoyt were chatting and drinking coffee. "All better now?" He stood up and walked back over to the detective's desk.

"Much, thanks to your wife here." Hoyt was actually smiling. "Do you think you can help me next year?"

"Sure, what are friends for?" CJ turned to Matt. "So what did you learn?"

"Well, all three of the previous victims were male, over-the-road drivers, in their 40's. One was white, one African-American, and one Hispanic. Two were married the other was divorced. The first victim, Roger Bell, was found just like the others except for one thing: there wasn't an ear on his keychain. But, his left ear was found at the scene of the second murder. That's where they came across Malcolm Patterson, whose ear was found with Arturo Montevideo. His ear is probably the one that was at this last scene. All were found in the sleeper in their trucks, in the same condition as this last one. The cause of death was exsanguination. Bleeding out, what a way to go." He looked out the window at the traffic below. "There was no mention of drugs in the report, Hoyt. Did they do a tox screen?"

"Yes, but…" he looked through the papers on his desk. "Wait, I do have it on the first one, Bell. Here you go." He handed the report to Matt who read through it.

"Uh huh. Well, that answers one question. The ME found GHB in his system. None of the truck drivers were big men, the tallest was 5' 10", but all were in fairly decent shape. There were no signs of struggle. The killer had to use something to subdue them." Matt sat back down on the couch. "Now the other question I have is this: did the drivers pick the killer up as a passenger, or something else? We know that there is a lot of prostitution at truck stops." He stopped for a minute. "But if we assume it was a female prostitute, how many women are likely to know how to skin someone like that?" He looked at CJ. "Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that a woman couldn't, because obviously she could. You know how to skin a deer, and do a darn good job of it, I might add." He smiled at his wife. "But not too many women out there know how to do it." The three sat in silence for a minute. "Of course, it could have been a man. Were there any indications that any of these drivers preferred men?"

"Not that I've been made aware of…but I haven't actually worked any of these cases myself up until now. The only reason I got landed with it today is because we're short three detectives at the moment. One is on his honeymoon, one is in the hospital, and one called out sick." Hoyt picked up his phone and began dialing. "I'm going to see if the ME has found GHB in the other two guys' systems." After a few minutes on hold, he was able to talk directly to the doctor that had performed the autopsies and asked him about the drug. "Uh huh, I see. Okay, thank you doctor. Oh, and a heads up: there's another one headed your way. I know. Thanks again." Michael hung up the phone. "Bingo. The other two guys also had GHB."

Matt nodded. "It could still be a man or a woman." He thought for a minute. "Who found the guy this morning?"

"The manager of the truck stop. All of the drivers who parked there in that section of the lot last night were told that they needed to move their rigs by 10 am. That section was going to be resurfaced today. He knocked on the door, didn't get an answer and opened it up, then saw the blood and called 911. The first officer on the scene climbed up in the rig and found him." He took a pad of paper and wrote the name of the manager on it as well as the officer's name and gave it to Matt. "The manager is off until 4pm today and Officer Rialto is off until Tuesday, but he's out of town at a wedding. And you can keep those files; I'll print out another copy for myself."

Matt nodded. "Okay, guess I'll start digging up information with BABY, and then go talk with the manager." He looked at CJ. "Are you two all done budgeting?"

She stood up smiling. "Yep, he's all set."

Hoyt stood up and came around the desk to give CJ a hug. "Thanks a lot, CJ; I'm just not any good at things like that." He shook Houston's hand. "Keep me in the loop."

"You know it." Matt opened the door for his wife and the pair left for their office.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Back at the office, Matt and CJ stepped out of the elevator and surprised their secretary, Chris. "I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow! I thought the two of you would be out for a drive." She smiled at the couple.

"Aha! So you were in on it, too!" He grinned. "Got my dream truck back! YES!"

CJ and Chris both rolled their eyes. "Boys and their toys, I guess." CJ smiled at her husband as he walked on into the office and turned on BABY, the computer that they used in their investigations. "Hello, BABY," he said to the computer. A message flashed up on the screen. "Hiya, boss!" He began doing research on the men in the files that Hoyt had given him. At this point they didn't have a positive ID on the fourth trucker yet. He was joined by CJ, who started a pot of coffee before settling next to him on the couch.

After a couple of hours they had a little better picture of the men that had been murdered. All three appeared to be decent people. None of them had been in any major trouble in their lives, with the exception of the first victim, Roger Bell, who had been arrested for soliciting a prostitute six years earlier. Matt picked up the phone and called Hoyt to see if he could find out any more information on the arrest that had taken place in Nevada.

"I'll put in a call to them. You'll know something as soon as I do." The lieutenant was much calmer now that his budget requests were all filled out and delivered.

"Alright, I'm going to go by the truck stop to talk to the manager and then I think we're heading home for the night." He and CJ headed for the elevator. "Good night, Chris. Got a date with anybody special tonight?" Matt knew that she and Murray Chase, CEO of Houston Industries had been dating for almost three months now. The secretary blushed. "Yes, as a matter of fact I do. I'm making him dinner tonight using the recipe you gave me for fajitas, Houston. Thanks again for that."

"No problem. Just remember, the hotter the better." He wiggled his eyebrows and smiled as CJ popped him on the back of the head and steered him into the elevator. "Have fun, Chris." She pushed the button for the parking garage and Matt stuck his head back out of the elevator before the doors closed. "Tell Murray I said don't do anything I wouldn't do!" CJ grabbed him and pulled him back in just as the doors closed.

On the way home, the pair stopped back by the Little Bison Truck Stop and spoke with the manager, James McAdoo, who was still shaken up by what he had seen. The somewhat portly man shivered as he thought about it. "Poor guy. Who would do something like that? It's just sick!" Matt nodded his agreement. "Did you know the driver?"

"Well, in passing, you know how it is; he was in here every week. Had a regular route and kept to a schedule. You could almost set your watch by him. He always ordered the same meal when he came in here. Said it was the best thing on the menu. Chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes with corn on the cob. His name was Kirk Clement. Real nice guy who always had a new joke to tell. Sarah there, the girl with the blonde hair? She usually waited on him and is real upset about it. I told her she could take the night off, but money's tight, so she's staying."

Matt looked over at the girl. "Would you mind if we talked to her for a few minutes about him?"

"No, not at all, if it will help to catch the nut job that did this." He walked over behind the counter and tapped her on the shoulder, then pointed to Matt and CJ who were sitting in a corner booth. She came over that way with a pot of coffee and three mugs.

"Hi, Sarah, I'm Matt Houston and this is my wife CJ. We're private investigators helping the LAPD look into what happened with the truck driver. Could you tell us a little bit about him?"

She poured coffee for the three of them and as she added creamer to her own, she began talking about him. "Yeah, his name was Kirk Clement and he was the nicest man. Always happy and polite, never trying to rush. Some of these guys are always in a hurry, you can never get their order fast enough, you know?" CJ and Matt both nodded. "But not Kirk. He was always real laid back. And jokes? Lord, I don't know how he remembered them all. Never told the same one twice." She smiled.

"Do you know if he was married?" CJ stirred her coffee as she looked at the waitress.

"He had been. His wife passed away about three years ago. She died when he was out on a run. It tore him up, but he said that he knew she was in a better place and that he would see her again one day." Sarah began crying again. "I'm sorry, he was such a sweet man, I just don't understand how or why…" She broke down then.

Matt looked over at CJ who reached across the table and patted the young woman's hand as he patted her on the back. She calmed down in a minute. "Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt him or that had a grudge against him?" Matt took another sip of coffee and watched the girl.

"No, sir. Like I said, he was just a real sweet man. Everybody liked him." She blew her nose on a napkin.

Matt reached in his pocket and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and handed it to her. "Thanks for your time. I'm sorry about your friend."

"I can't take that!" She pushed the bill away.

Matt put in her hand again. "You took the time to talk with us and you've been a big help. Why don't you take the rest of the night off? I don't think the manager will mind at all, okay?"

She nodded as tears came to her eyes. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Houston. I really need this job. I've got a little boy and times are rough right now." She left the booth.

"Mr. Houston, you're a really sweet man yourself." CJ patted his hand. Matt looked up at her. "She's too upset to be here tonight. It just isn't right. Let's go home." He stood up and held out his hand to CJ who took it, and they headed out to Matt's truck.

Later on that evening, Matt and CJ walked down to the barn so that he could check on the horses. With the cast on his leg and being in a wheelchair, his trips to visit them had been limited for the last six weeks. He climbed up and sat on the wooden fence, with CJ right next to him. One horse spied him the minute he got to the top of the fence and ran to him. "Hey, Cricket, how's my girl doing tonight?" Matt petted on the horse whose excited whinny came out sounding more like a chirp, thus her name. She was his favorite. He had trained her himself and claimed that he didn't have to do much because she already knew what he wanted. Cricket kept nuzzling at him until he finally slid onto her back and went for a ride around the pasture. "Don't you fall off and hit that arm!" CJ called after him. He just waved at her. She watched him ride the horse bareback and thought about how much he was still like the ten year old boy that she had met and fallen in love with over twenty years ago. Every horse in the pasture was following him and Cricket around, each trying to get his attention. Matt had that effect on people as well as animals. Most people, especially kids, flocked to him. When they neared CJ he didn't have to say a word to Cricket; she automatically stopped right where she had picked him up and stood perfectly still as he climbed back over onto the fence. He scratched her jaw then gave her a swat on the rump and she took off across the pasture. The other horses wouldn't leave him alone until he paid attention to each of them. He and CJ sat on the fence, with an arm around each other, and watched the sun go down, then headed back to the house for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

The next morning Matt and CJ stepped off the elevator at the office to find a surprise: Chris and Murray were kissing and didn't hear the elevator. The husband and wife looked at each other, then tiptoed on into the main part of the office. Matt stuck his head back around to watch the CEO and the secretary and CJ grabbed him by the hand and pulled him over to the bar and poured coffee for both of them. "Aw c'mon, CJ, I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Matt looked back toward the door.

"You leave them alone Matt. Chris was nice enough not to bother us when we first got together." The two of them walked over and plopped down on the couch to open up the computer. "Well, let's see what we can find out about Kirk Clement, now that we know his name." CJ looked over at Matt, who was turned around on the couch watching the couple in the outer office. "Man! They're STILL going at it! Way to go, Murray!" he whispered. CJ popped him on the back of the head again. "Ouch!" He looked at his wife. "Really, Matt, how old are you? Fifteen?" She began entering information into the computer. "Well, I'm impressed, CJ, this is Murray after all." His wife just shook her head in disapproval. "Pay attention, Matt. Time to get some work done." He turned back toward the screen.

"Alright, let's see. Kirk Clement, age 43, widower, lived in Cherry Valley. High school graduate, served in the Air Force for four years, hired as a driver by Overland Logistics when he got out and has worked there ever since. That's rare these days. He must have been a good employee." Matt drank his coffee as he pondered the case. "I believe we should pay a visit to the folks at Overland. Who's his boss?" CJ hit a few more keys. "Looks like his name is Peter O'Shaunessy. Here's the address." She wrote it on a pad of paper and handed it to him. "Alright, guess I'll see you in a little while." He leaned over and gave her a kiss, then another longer one. Somewhat breathless, CJ asked, "Well, what caused that?" Matt turned and looked back out at the outer office. "Can't let Murray make me look bad. I've got a reputation, ya know. Love you." He gave her a peck on the cheek then stepped over the back of the couch and headed for the elevator. Chris and Murray still had no idea that anyone was around. Matt snickered as he boarded the elevator.

Forty five minutes later, he pulled into the lot at Overland Logistics. He walked in the front door and introduced himself to the secretary who called O'Shaunessy. The manager walked out of his office and shook Matt's hand, and ushered him into the office. "It's just a terrible thing. Kirk was a fixture here; he's been with the company longer than anyone else, including me."

"Could you tell me a little bit about him?" Matt sat down in the chair that was offered to him.

"Well, let's see. He was a terrific driver, never any accidents or complaints. He was always on time. Everybody here thought the world of him." O'Shaunessy leaned back in his chair. "There just aren't many people like him around, Mr. Houston. Just a great all-around guy."

"How long had he been driving that particular route?"

"Well, let's see…I believe for about the last five years or so. It's a glory route." The manager saw Matt's confused expression. "It's a beautiful run, easy, everyone wants it."

"Ah, gotcha. Okay, could you tell me about it?" He wondered about the routes of the other truckers.

"I can do better than that. Here's a map of it." O'Shaunessy pulled up a map on his computer and turned the monitor so that Matt could see it. "It runs from San Francisco all the way down to San Diego. Beautiful stretch of the state." Matt nodded. "Yeah, I can see why that would be a good one." He thought for a moment. "So what route did he have before that?"

"Well, it was a long one, for sure. From Chicago to LA. It runs through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and of course California."

"Alright, Mr. O'Shaunessy, I sure appreciate your help. Thanks a lot." Matt shook the man's hand and left the building. He called CJ once he was out of the parking lot. "Hey, has Hoyt called back about Roger Bell's arrest in Nevada?"

"As a matter of fact I talked to him about ten minutes ago. It seems that Bell was caught with a prostitute in Clark County. Since it was his first offense he was ordered to pay a fine and that was the end of it. Did you find anything?" She leaned back in her desk chair and twirled a pencil.

"Well, according to his boss, Clement used to have a run a few years back that went right through there. Tell you what, would you call the truck lines that the other drivers worked for and see if you can find out their routes for the last, oh, say five to ten years?" He stopped at a red light and scratched at the skin just under his cast. CJ heard a horn blowing. "Is that you honking?" Matt rarely used his horn. "Uh, no, that's somebody honking at me. Kinda got distracted. I'll be there in a little while. Love you. 'Bye." "Love you, too." She hung up the phone wondering what had him so distracted.

A short time later, Matt was walking back into the office. He looked over at Chris as he came through the outer office: she had a big smile on her face. When Matt smiled back at her, she blushed and looked down. He kept on going into the main office and then into CJ's office where he found her still on the phone with one of the truck lines.

"Yes, Mrs. Oliver, I'm still here. Uh huh. I see. Alrighty then, thanks so much." She hung up. "You might just be onto something, Cowboy. The other three drivers all had routes through that same area at the time of Bell's arrest." He sat on the edge of her desk playing with a rubber band. "Makes you wonder if these guys knew each other? Maybe from running into each other at a truck stop or something?" He picked up an unsharpened pencil and slid it down into his cast to scratch.

"Matt be careful with that. You might hit one of the pins or something." She took the pencil from his hand, started to put it back into the can on her desk, then made a face and threw it into the trashcan. She now had a good idea what had distracted him earlier in traffic. "Well it itches, CJ." She got up and gave him a hug. "It will be gone in two weeks." She kissed him. "Leave it alone." In a funny voice he answered, "Yes, dear." She headed back out to the main office and he picked up another pencil. Just as he was about to slide it into the cast CJ stuck her head back around the corner. He looked up, saw her, and put the pencil back in the can. She wiggled her finger at him and he tucked his head down and followed her. Sitting down in front of BABY, she opened three different emails, each with a map of the routes of the other three drivers that went through Clark County, Nevada. "That's definitely interesting." Then she stacked the routes on top of each other on a map. They all intersected in the same area of Clark County.

"I think we need to talk to Hoyt." Matt picked up the phone and made the call. "Hi, it's me. Listen, we've found out a little something that the four drivers had in common: they all had routes through the same area in Clark County, Nevada six years ago. That was the same time that Bell was arrested. Do you think you might be able to get some information about the prostitute? I'm wondering if there could be a connection there."

"That is interesting. Very interesting. I'll call back out there and see what I can get. Have you found out anything else?" Hoyt found the number for the Clark County Jail that he had called earlier.

"No, that's all." He tried to get his finger under the cast but CJ caught him.

"Okay, I'll call you as soon as I know something." Hoyt hung up the phone, then picked it back up and dialed Clark County.

Matt went back into CJ's office and came back out carrying the case files that he had gotten from Hoyt the day before. He sat back down on the couch and started going through them again. "What are you looking for?" CJ picked up one of them and opened it up.

"I'm not sure. Let's see here, Clement was found off of the 405, Bell was found near the 10, Patterson just off of the 5, and Montevideo close to the 210. That's a pretty good distance in between those four interstates." He pulled up a map of Los Angeles and looked at the interstates that ran in and near the city. "I don't know, CJ, something just tells me that all of this is linked to the prostitute in Clark County."

The phone rang. "It's Hoyt." CJ listened for a minute. "Hang on; let me put you on speaker so Matt can hear this, too." She punched the button. "Go ahead."

"Alright, according to Sgt. Blaine in Clark County, the prostitute that was also picked up during Bell's arrest was one Angela Beaudine. She was 43 at the time. She was found dead about a month later – stabbed."

"Well…did she have any family?" Matt was starting to run out of ideas.

"As a matter of fact, yes she did. There was a son who was 13 at the time. He ended up living with an uncle in Wyoming. His name is Corey. The last known address for him was at the uncle's house in Rock Springs, Wyoming."

"Alright, we'll see what we can find out on that angle then. Thanks." Matt hung up the phone and watched the screen for the results of CJ's search.

"Okay, checking the Los Angeles area, there are three Corey Beaudines listed. One is 36, one 22, and the other is 66. Not who we're looking for obviously. Okay, let's try Rock Springs, Wyoming. Nope." She switched to the Las Vegas area. "Now in Vegas, there are two. One is 43 and the other…bingo. He's 19. I'll bet that's him."

"Wonder what else we can find out about him?" Matt leaned back and absently started scratching at the edge of his cast.

"Quit it, Matt. I've found an address for him in Vegas at a hotel, the El Conquistador." She sat back on the couch as well. "Why do I get the feeling that we're going to Vegas?"

"Not just yet." He picked up the phone and dialed Hoyt's number again and put it on speaker. "One more question: did you check to see if Corey Beaudine had a record?"

"No, I didn't. Guess I'm calling Vegas again. I'll call you right back." Hoyt started to hang up.

"Hold on a minute. How about we meet for lunch and kick this thing around a little bit?" Matt looked over at CJ who nodded.

"Great. Where do you want to go?" Hoyt's stomach was already rumbling.

"I don't know. How about Chinese?"

CJ piped up just then. "No, we can't do that. You might try to scratch with the chop sticks." She started laughing. Hoyt wasn't sure what that meant, and wasn't sure that he really wanted to know.

"Umm, how about that little Mexican place around the corner from your office?" Michael certainly hoped CJ approved of it – he was hungry.

"That sounds great, Michael, we'll meet you there." CJ disconnected the call. Matt was sitting there looking at her. "That wasn't nice at all, you know that, right?" She just snickered as she went into her office to get her purse. While she was gone, Matt pulled a pencil out of his back pocket and scratched his arm.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Over a meal of chimichangas, refried beans, rice and a dessert of sopapillas, the three detectives discussed the case. Leaning back in the booth and putting his arm around CJ, Matt thought about Corey Beaudine. "I guess the best thing to do is try going to Vegas to see if I can find him. They haven't found any fingerprints or anything to link anybody to the killings. It's a dead end." CJ looked at him with a somewhat disgusted expression. "I didn't mean it like that, CJ." She looked over at Hoyt. "What do you think?"

"Well, I think it would be wise to go there and see if he's actually there, but maybe we shouldn't contact him. Watching him for a little bit might be more…um, illuminating than talking to him, especially if he's our killer." He took a sip of the iced tea and signaled the waiter for a refill.

"Sounds like a plan." Matt thought for a minute. "Do we know if the uncle is still living in Wyoming? And what's his name?"

Michael pulled a notebook out of his jacket pocket. "His name is Peter Beaudine; he was Angela's brother. Here's his address." He copied out the information on another page and handed it to Matt.

CJ looked up at Matt. "So when is the road trip?"

He looked at his watch. "Well, I guess we can leave this afternoon. Is that okay with you?" He looked down at his wife and smiled. "Uh oh, what's with the smile?" She pulled away from him slightly. "Oh, nothing, just thinking about what they say about Vegas. You know, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."" He looked across the table at Hoyt who was also chuckling. "You do know that there is an exception to that don't you?" The lieutenant was grinning because he knew that the couple was trying to have a baby. "Yup." Matt looked back at his wife who blushed slightly and shook her head, then started laughing.

Back at the office, CJ was looking for information on Peter Beaudine while Matt was getting the van ready for their trip. She came down to the parking garage just as he was finishing up checking the oil. "We've got another mystery on our hands." She walked up to the van as he slammed the hood shut. Wiping his hands on a shop towel, he asked, "Oh? What is that?"

"Well, Mr. Peter Beaudine went missing about a year ago. No one has seen him. And the timing of his absence just happened to coincide with his nephew leaving town." She tossed two bags into the back of the van.

"That is most "illuminating" to borrow a word from our favorite cop." He walked around toward the back of the van with her following. "Okay, the van checks out. All we need to do is stop for gas on the way out of town. Let me go get this grease off of my knuckles and we'll be on the way if you're ready."

"Yep, I brought down the clothes that you packed. I guess that's about it." She followed him to the elevator. "Have you heard from Uncle Roy?"

"Yep, he called me a few minutes ago. Said he's been getting his limit of trout every day and will be heading back this way tomorrow." Roy Houston was Matt's uncle who had worked for the CIA and now was an employee of Houston Investigations. While Matt was out with his injuries from the truck bomb, Roy had been running the whole operation by himself. He had taken a few days off to go fishing.

"Good. Maybe he'll treat us to some of his famous trout almandine when he gets back." She put her arm around Matt and gave him a hug. "How's the arm feeling?" He flexed his fingers. "It's alright – still a little sore, but a lot better than it was." They reached the penthouse office and CJ stopped to fill Chris in on their trip while Matt went to wash his hands.

A few minutes later, after stopping and filling up the van, the pair hit the road to Vegas. After getting on I-15, they knew they had about a four and a half hour ride in front of them. Matt looked over at CJ and patted her hand. "Why don't you try to catch a nap? We're going to have a long night ahead of us."

"Alright." She tilted the seat back and got comfortable and within minutes was dreaming. She woke up three hours later. Matt was pulling into a gas station. "Are we low on gas already?"

He looked over at her. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up. I just thought maybe it would be wise to go ahead and fill up before we got there. Don't want to have to stop for gas while I'm following somebody."

"That's a good idea." CJ yawned and stretched, then adjusted the seat back to its normal position. "Time for a pit stop anyway." She hopped out of the van and headed into the convenience store. When she came out of the back, Matt was standing in line at the counter holding several cold drinks, chips, and a couple of candy bars. He saw the look she was giving him. "For later. I always get the munchies on stakeouts." She smiled and nodded. While they waited to be checked out, she spied a rack with maps of Vegas. "Think we might need one of those?" She jerked her head in the direction of the rack. Matt nodded. "Couldn't hurt."

After finishing their transaction, the couple loaded up in the van and set off. A little over an hour later they were entering the city limits. "Okay, what was the address of the El Conquistador?" Matt had stopped at a light. CJ pulled out the piece of paper and found it on the map. "It's about 5 miles north of here. Take that next left." They parked in a vacant lot across from the hotel.

"Beaudine is supposed to be in room 5." He picked up a pair of binoculars and looked at the hotel. "It's the last room on the left hand side." CJ took the binoculars and looked. "The curtains are open."

Matt sat watching the room. "Yep, kinda makes you think somebody is home." He checked his watch. "It's almost 6:30, wonder if our boy has had dinner yet?" No sooner had he spoken than the door to the room opened. CJ raised the binoculars. "This looks like it might be him." She handed them to her husband. "Yep, it looks enough like the picture Hoyt had. Mm, and he's got a bag with him, too. Looks like he's going to the office." They watched him go into the office and return back outside within a couple of minutes. He walked across the parking lot while digging in his front right pocket. "And he's getting in a car. Looks like an Alero." Matt looked at CJ. "Call Hoyt when we get his tag number so we can be sure it's him." He put the van in gear and carefully followed the Oldsmobile in the direction that they had come from earlier. Not wanting to get too close to the suspect, Matt told CJ to use the binoculars to get the tag number. "Got it. 759-ZJH."

She dialed Hoyt's number. "Hi, can you run a Nevada plate for us? Okay, 759-Zebra-John-Henry. That's it. Okay." There was a pause. "Yeah, I'm still here. Alright then, we've found our guy. Well, right now he's headed toward I-15. Uh huh. We've got him in our sights. Alright, talk to you later." CJ hung up the phone. "I believe he's impressed that we've gotten on this guy's tail so fast."

"Really? Now what else would he expect from the two of us?" He reached over and patted her leg. "Why do I get the feeling that we're heading right back to LA?"

"I've got that feeling, too. Maybe he's getting ready to kill another driver."

"You know, it would make sense to leave the area after a murder. And a four and a half hour drive would definitely take you out of the suspect pool." Matt looked back over at her.

"Yep. But what I haven't been able to figure out is how he's managing to get into the rigs with these guys. As far as we know, none of them are into guys."

"Best thing we can do is stay on his tail." Matt was having a hard time keeping up with the suspect because of the late afternoon traffic, but with the help of CJ he managed to keep a safe distance from him while still keeping him in sight. Sure enough, he got on I-15 headed toward LA. As the traffic thinned out, Matt backed off of his speed a little bit trying to not look like he was tailing the suspect.

An hour later there was little doubt that Beaudine was heading back toward the interstates in Los Angeles. CJ called Hoyt and gave him an update. A few minutes later, he got off of I-15 at the Highway 127 exit inside California and stopped at a gas station. Matt looked down at the van's gas gauge and pulled off the interstate and went to a station that was right next door to the one where the suspect had stopped. He slid his credit card and began pumping gas while CJ kept an eye on Beaudine. "Ok, he's hung up the nozzle, Matt." Matt did the same and jumped back in the van. He waited until Beaudine had pulled out and watched him get back on the interstate, still headed south before he pulled out of the station. Once on the interstate, he had another problem: there had been an accident that was blocking the road. There was no sign of Beaudine anywhere.

Not thinking, Matt hit the steering wheel with his right hand and immediately regretted it. The pain in his forearm shot up his arm, through his shoulder and ended up in his head. Once it had subsided a little bit, he looked over at CJ. "Are you okay?" She reached out and touched his shoulder. "No, I'm not. I'm pissed." He looked at the wreck in front of them and thought for a minute. "Call Hoyt and tell him what happened. Maybe he can get some help from the CHP, and see if they can spot him. We'll just have to wait this mess out. There are roads that go through the desert, little two-lane roads, but I don't really want to go down through there at night. All kinds of things happen out there."

CJ picked up her phone and called Hoyt back and told him what had happened. Matt sat looking out the driver's side window wishing that he had been a little quicker taking off from the gas station and that he hadn't lost his temper and hit his hand.

"Okay, he's talking to the CHP right now." She knew Matt was hurting bad and reached over to him again. "Hey, look at me. It could have happened to anybody. We were doing great. If these people hadn't had the accident, we would be right on his tail. You didn't do anything wrong…except for hitting the steering wheel."

He looked over at her. "I could kick myself right now."

"How about we switch. You've been driving all day. C'mon." He finally agreed and switched seats with her. Once she was in the driver's seat she reached for her purse and pulled out a bottle. "Dr. CJ says take two of these and try to get a little rest, okay? Once this wreck is cleared, I'll see if I can ahem, "moderate" our speed and we might just be able to catch up with him."

"Dr. CJ, huh?" He smiled at her. "Okay, give me two of 'em." He held out his hand and popped the two pills in his mouth and washed them down with his cold drink. He tried to recline the seat back but the pain in his arm wouldn't let him move the lever. CJ got up and reached over to adjust it, and on the way back to her seat, she gave him a kiss. "Get a little rest. I promise I'll wake you up if anything happens."

"Alright. Love you." He got comfortable in the seat and in a short time was asleep. A few minutes later, traffic flow was restored and CJ took off.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

CJ kept the van cranked up as fast as she dared, being careful to keep a good eye out for police as well as the Alero that was being driven by the suspect. Just as she reached the intersection of I-15 and I-10, she saw him. He was exiting onto I-10 west. "Matt! Wake up! I just found him!"

Matt jumped up and looked. "Great job, CJ. I'll call Hoyt and let him know." He pulled out his phone and dialed the detective. "Hey, we've just got back on his tail. He switched to I-10 west. Yeah. Okay, we'll let you know." He hung up and turned to look at the clock in the van, and did some mental calculations. "Somebody was playing NASCAR while I was asleep." He could see a smile playing at the edges of CJ's mouth. "I'm impressed." He undid his seatbelt, stood up, and with his left hand returned the seat to the upright position. Sitting back down, he fastened the seatbelt and then took a drink. "So, wonder where our boy is headed?"

Beaudine then took the 615 south, then took the Pomona Freeway west and jumped off at the Peck Road exit. CJ was still keeping him in sight. He went a short distance to a truck stop. Matt called Hoyt back to let him know. "He says he's on his way." He hung up the phone and continued to watch Corey Beaudine as he entered the truck stop. They could see him through the windows as he sat at the counter and drank coffee. A little while later Hoyt pulled up and got in the van with them.

"So, did we enjoy our trip to Vegas?" He grinned at CJ who was looking up at him in the mirror.

"Gee, Michael, we were there for such a LONG time but we didn't get to see any shows or gamble anywhere." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"I really didn't expect you two to be back here so soon." He watched as their suspect continued to sit and drink coffee.

"Well, the only thing that I see him doing that should be illegal is adding way too much sugar to his coffee. Dang that's gross!" Matt made a face. After two more cups of coffee, Beaudine made a trip to the men's room and then came back out to his car. Hoyt got out of the van and back into his car as CJ started the engine. He followed the van out of the parking lot.

Beaudine traveled up Peck Road a little further and then checked into a motel for the night. Hoyt was sitting in the van with Matt and CJ again as they watched him go to the upper floor and into a room. Matt turned and looked at Hoyt. "So, what do you think now?"

Hoyt shook his head. "I'm not sure what to think. Something that has me puzzled is this guy's work history: he doesn't have one. How is he getting by?"

"Good question." Matt looked at CJ and Hoyt. "I vote we put a critter on his car. It would make finding him a little easier…especially if there's another wreck." He had a disgusted look on his face.

"How's the arm?" CJ looked back at him as he dug one of his "critters" out of the back of the van.

"Fine." He came back toward the front to make sure their suspect was still in the room.

"You never lie, do you?" CJ looked him in the eye.

"It's fine." Matt got out of the van and casually walked over to the sidewalk and ambled toward the Alero. He stopped and looked around the parking lot and leaned against a post while he looked at CJ to make sure that Beaudine wasn't out of the room. Then he walked out into the parking lot right next to the car, acted like he dropped something at the back of it, and stuck the bug to the back edge of the rear license plate.

"Did he hurt it again?" Hoyt was watching as Matt wandered up to the other end of the parking lot and got a Fizzy Pop out of the machine and slowly walked back toward the van.

"I hope not. He kind of lost his temper when we got stuck behind the wreck – and hit the steering wheel." She looked at Hoyt. "I just hope he didn't tear it up again." Hoyt let out a low whistle. Matt had made it back to the van and got inside.

"Hoyt, would you hand me that laptop behind you?" He looked over at CJ and handed her the can of Fizzy Pop. "Here ya go." He grinned and took the computer from Hoyt, who looked over his shoulder as he activated the bug.

"That looks pretty easy to use."

"Yep, that's the idea." Matt had been working on the program with well-known computer mogul Derwin Dunlap.

"How much more testing are you going to be doing on it?" He watched as Matt closed the laptop.

"None. It's ready to hit the market.""

Hoyt pondered for a minute. "Houston, not to try to tell you your business, but have you thought of retiring?"

Matt froze for a minute, then turned and looked at Hoyt. "Are you trying to tell me that you're tired of having me around?"

"NO! Not by any means. It's just that…well, you two are wanting a family and this gig is a lot more dangerous than it used to be…that's all I'm saying." Hoyt remembered the conversation that he and Vince Novelli had right after the truck bomb had injured Matt. Both had gotten the impression, even before the bombing, that Matt was thinking about quitting, although he hadn't said it outright.

"Well, alright then. Don't be trying to get rid of me." He quickly changed the subject. "CJ, I think we should get a room here tonight. I know it's not deluxe accommodations, but at least we can keep an eye on this guy." He looked at Hoyt. "So what about you? Going to hang out with us for a while?"

"I guess so; I'd hate to leave and then have to come back. Let's give him a while and see what he does." He leaned back against the door. CJ got out and went to the office to rent the room while Matt and Hoyt kept a watch on Beaudine. When she had the key, she walked over to the room that was on the opposite side of the parking lot.

"Good girl. That'll make it easier to keep an eye on him." He and Hoyt got out of the van, each carrying a bag, and headed to the room. CJ opened the door for them. "Tsk, tsk, whatever has become of me?" Matt gave her a quizzical look. "Sharing a motel room with two men." She cracked up before she could finish saying it. "Yeah, well at least ONE of us is married to you." Matt turned on the light in the bathroom and turned off the one closest to the window. "That way we can see out, but he can't see in." He plopped down on one of the beds. "Yep, I can see it from here. Now, is anybody else here hungry besides me?"

"Now that you mention it, it has been a long time since lunch." Hoyt sat on the foot of the bed. "What do you two want?" Matt and CJ looked at each other and shrugged. "Well, there's a Burger Nerd across the road." Both nodded.

"I'll go get it – I need to stretch my legs." Matt got up, picked up a pad of paper on the nightstand, and started taking orders. After Michael told him what kind of burger he wanted Matt just had to ask: "Do you want fries with that?" All three cracked up.

After taking down the orders, Matt walked across the road and picked up their order. As he was coming back, he looked up and saw the door to Beaudine's hotel room close. He picked up his pace and went into the hotel room where CJ and Hoyt were waiting. "What did he do?" He sat the burgers on the dresser and walked back toward the window.

"Nothing, he just opened the door for a minute and then closed it." CJ had taken Matt's spot on the bed to keep watch.

"Okay, that's odd." Matt handed out the burgers and the three started to eat.

After finishing her meal, CJ stood up and said, "Well, gents, how are we going to work this – shift wise?" She yawned.

Matt looked at Hoyt. "I'll take first shift since I was the last one to nap. You two can catch some z's." He leaned back against the head board and looked out the window as CJ stretched out on the bed next to him and Hoyt stretched out on the other bed. As the police detective settled in, he looked over at CJ. "I sure hope you don't snore." Matt and Hoyt both busted out laughing. "She does, like a big old hippo." CJ reached over and smacked him on the leg. "Matt!" He looked over at her, then at Hoyt. "No she doesn't. She sleeps like the angel that she is." He leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Humph. We haven't even made it to our first anniversary yet and look how you're treating me." Matt grinned down at her. "Love you, babe." "Yeah, right." She moved over next to him on the bed and he put his arm around her. "Night." Matt leaned over and gave her another kiss. She looked up at him and grinned.

In a few minutes, both CJ and Hoyt were asleep and Matt sat watching Beaudine's room. He looked down at CJ and thought about what Hoyt had said about retiring. Matt had indeed been thinking about it but hadn't mentioned it to anyone, not even CJ. He thought back to the reason why he had become a private investigator: he had been kidnapped, tortured, and abused by two men who snatched him from his bedroom when he was five years old. He swore to track the men down and kill them, and had done that. That was one of the reasons. Another was because sometimes the law just couldn't protect everyone, no matter how hard they tried. Sometimes it took someone operating just outside the strict rules of police work to get the job done. Matt had helped a lot of people over the years. He knew that someday he would retire, but now just didn't seem like the right time. Not just yet, anyway.

After a couple of hours, there was movement outside of Beaudine's door. He had stepped outside and was walking down toward the steps. Matt threw a pillow at Hoyt, waking him up. "He's on the move." Matt went to the window to watch where he went. "Looks like he's headed to the Burger Nerd." He looked back at Hoyt. "I could slip in his room and leave a couple of critters: one in his gear and another in the room."

Hoyt nodded. "Okay, I'll play lookout." Matt walked over to his bag, removed two of his "critters" and a set of lock picks. He went to the door and checked to make sure Beaudine was still headed across the road, then trotted across the parking lot and up to the suspect's room. It took just a few seconds for him to pick the lock and enter the room. Hoyt was watching both Beaudine and Houston and was amazed how fast the PI got into the room. "Boy am I glad he's one of the good guys." He laughed to himself. Matt was back out of the room in less than a minute and back to the room in another.

"Where did you learn how to pick locks, Houston?" Hoyt looked at the PI in amazement.

Matt feigned a shocked look. "Well, now that's just a little bit personal, don't you think?" He grinned. "Let's just say that part of my youth was spent in various pursuits that may or may not have been completely legal." Putting the picks back in his bag, he said, "Of course Uncle Sam also helped me learn a few things about locks, alarms, and such when I worked for him."

Hoyt nodded. "Good old Army intelligence, huh?"

Matt nodded. "Yep, quite a few of the things that I learned from them have saved my bacon on several occasions." He opened up the laptop and activated the critters that he had just left in the suspect's room.

"He's not going to see the one you put in his bag is he?" Hoyt was wondering about that while Matt was gone.

"Not unless he pulls the bottom of that suitcase apart. Come to think of it, he had two suitcases." Matt thought about that. "I should have looked in the other one, but since I didn't want to get caught…" He looked over at Hoyt. "Maybe another opportunity will present its self." Neither man said anything for a minute as they both watched the room. "He's back." Matt had seen him first. "And…he's back in the room. Guess you can lay back down." Matt opened up the laptop and checked the video from the critter camera.

Hoyt put the pillow that Matt had thrown at him back on the bed. "Just in case you need to wake me up again." He settled back down on the other bed and watched Houston as he looked out the window. "You really have been thinking about quitting haven't you?"

Matt looked down, then over at his friend. "Get some sleep, cop." He went back to watching.

Hoyt woke up again about 3am and Matt was still watching. "What happened to taking shifts, PI? Trying to hog all the glory?"

Matt set the laptop on the table. "No, just trying to be nice." Hoyt went and splashed some water on his face and then came back to take over the watch. He sat in the chair next to the window and Matt lay down next to CJ who had hardly moved all night. He slipped his arm under her neck and she automatically snuggled into his chest. Hoyt looked back over at the pair a few minutes later and both were sleeping peacefully.

CJ woke up about 5am. Carefully, she eased out of Matt's arms. He moved slightly and was flat on his back, arms out stretched. He started snoring a little bit.

"Anything happen while I was asleep?" Sitting on the edge of the bed closest to the window, she brushed her hair into a pony tail.

"He went to the Burger Nerd and Matt snuck in the room and planted a couple of critters there." He pointed to the laptop.

She nodded and looked back over at Matt. "I think you struck a nerve last night when you asked him about retiring."

The lieutenant nodded. "Well, I'm not the only one who has had that impression: Vince was talking about it, too." He looked over at the man he now claimed as a best friend. "I couldn't blame him if he did, CJ. Think of how many times he's been shot, stabbed, beaten up. Hit by cars even." He shook his head. "And this world we live in isn't taming down any at all, it's just getting worse every day." Looking back out of the window he said, "And let's face it; he doesn't have to work if he doesn't want to work. I know his finances took a hit when he split the company up and gave almost everything to charity. But I don't think he's got anything to worry about."

"No, he doesn't. He's had several little ventures like the one with Derwin since the split. Plus, he inherited a good deal from Bill, but he doesn't want to be one of those rich people who just sit around all day planning how to get richer. He wants to help people." She looked back at her husband of almost six months. "He could have played pro football or baseball, you know? He had scouts watching him starting when he was a sophomore in high school. When he was a kid he kind of dreamed of it. But something happened that made him want to become a private investigator."

Hoyt nodded. "He told me a little bit about that when he was helping with my bribery charges."

"I guess you know that puts you in a class with a rare few; the elite circle if you will." She smiled at him then looked back over at Matt. "I know it's dangerous, but I knew that going into the marriage. It's just part of who he is. I would never dream of asking him to quit." She paused for a minute. "Not to say there aren't times when I wish he would back off a little bit." Hoyt chuckled.

"Uncle Roy is supposed to be back at work today. We'll have another pair of eyes to help us out." She got up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Hoyt watched her as she picked up her purse. "I think it's about time for a coffee run." She headed out the door and across the road to the Burger Nerd.

When she came back it was a little after 5:30. She handed Hoyt a steaming hot cup of coffee and set down a bag full of sausage biscuits. "Breakfast is served." He dug into the bag and pulled out a paper-wrapped biscuit. A pack of mustard fell out onto the table. The detective looked over at CJ. "Why did you get mustard?"

"Because her husband happens to like it on his sausage biscuit, that's why." Matt stretched and sat up on the side of the bed. CJ handed him a cup of coffee and a biscuit and was paid with a good morning kiss. Hoyt looked back over at the pair. "Alright, you two stop acting like newlyweds."

"But we are still newlyweds." Matt wiggled his eyebrows at CJ, causing her to crackup. She sat on the bed next to him. "How's the arm this morning?" Matt looked at it and flexed his fingers. "It seems to be alright, just a little sore." He took a bite of biscuit and looked out of the window. "Anything else happen?" Hoyt shook his head. "It's been really quiet."

About 8am, Beaudine came out of the room carrying both suitcases. "Here we go folks." Matt and Hoyt had already put the bags in the van and they were ready to leave. Hoyt was supposed to turn in the room key while Matt and CJ followed Beaudine. As he got to the road, CJ and Matt jumped into the van and started after him.

Beaudine got back on I-10 and stayed on it until he got to I-5 and headed north. CJ called and updated Hoyt who was a few minutes behind them. A short time later, their suspect stopped at a motel near the I-5 and I-405 merger. Matt and CJ pulled into a fast food restaurant parking lot next door and watched as he went into the office and rented a room. "Here we go again." Matt looked over at his wife.

"Is this all he does – go from motel to motel?" She was getting slightly exasperated as she dialed Hoyt's number once again. As she was talking to him, Beaudine went to a room on the upper floor and disappeared inside.

"Guess we better get a room, huh?" Matt pulled into the motel parking lot and went in to get a room. He came back out and got back into the van. "We've got a problem. The only room they have left is on the top floor at the far end." He looked at CJ. "I guess we'll have to take it, otherwise it's going to be a long day sitting in this van."

CJ looked up. "Maybe not. He only took one of the suitcases inside, right?"

Matt nodded his agreement. "You've got a point." They sat there for a while. Hoyt pulled into the parking lot behind them and got into the van.

"We can't get a room with a view this time, Michael," CJ joked. "And he left one of the bags in the van, so we're wondering if he's planning on going somewhere."

"I don't know, but we can't keep spending all day watching this guy." Hoyt was trying to decide what to do. Matt looked up. "Ooooookay. A man went into the room, but now we've got a woman coming out." He looked at CJ. "Or do we?" He looked in the mirror at Hoyt. "That could explain how he's getting in the rigs." Hoyt nodded. CJ snapped a picture of the woman as she passed by the van and pulled it up on the computer so they could get a better look. "Well, boys, I think we know why he's been able to get into the sleeper compartments now. That's him, no doubt. One heck of a makeup job and a wig, but that's him." They waited until he started out of the parking lot, then Michael got out of the van and into his car and they took off following him again.

Beaudine went on up the 405 a short ways to a truck stop, where he got out and started walking through the parked rigs. It wasn't long before he disappeared inside of one, carrying what looked to be a whiskey bottle. "You stay here," Matt told CJ. He and Hoyt both got out of the van and pulled their pistols out. They carefully walked up beside the rig that Beaudine had gotten into. Matt turned and walked back to the back of the truck, soon followed by Michael. When he reached the back of the truck where Matt had disappeared, he found that he had picked the lock on the back door of the rig and was climbing up using the door. "Don't tear that arm up again, or CJ will kill both of us." He watched the private investigator swing his legs up and over the end of the truck and then carefully crawl on top of it. Matt motioned that he was going up front and Hoyt followed along on the ground. When he reached the cab, Matt carefully lay down on top of it, trying not to make any noise and peeked in through the windshield. He saw the driver passing out onto the mattress in the sleeper compartment and Beaudine pulling a knife out the top of his thigh high stocking. He motioned to Hoyt who tried to open the cab door but discovered that it was locked. Matt landed on the hood of the rig and fired his pistol, shattering the windshield. He then dove through it and landed between the two seats. "DROP IT! DO IT NOW!" He yelled at a shocked Beaudine, who spun around to see what had happened. Hoyt had climbed up onto the hood of the rig and came in through what was left of the destroyed windshield. "POLICE! DROP THE KNIFE, BEAUDINE!" Matt took a step towards the man and he suddenly raised the knife up and slit his own throat. Spotting a t-shirt laying on the edge of the bunk, Matt grabbed it and tried to stop the bleeding but Beaudine was dead within seconds. He stood up and walked back up to the front of the cab and looked at Hoyt, who was pulling out his cell phone and calling for an ambulance. Matt shook his head. "Nope, just get the coroner." He unlocked the passenger side door and swung out of the rig looking sick.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Later on that afternoon, Matt was sitting on the couch in Hoyt's office. He had just gotten done getting his cast replaced because of the blood that gotten on it earlier that morning. They had done an x-ray of the arm and found that he hadn't done any damage when he hit the steering wheel. CJ walked in and brought him a Fizzy Pop.

He looked up as she handed it to him. "Thanks." He just sat there and looked at the can. "You okay, hon?" CJ came and sat down next to him. "Yeah, I'm fine." He leaned back on the couch and opened the can. "I was just thinking about what happened. I know he killed those guys, but it was a shame – he was only nineteen. God, when I was nineteen all I thought about was girls, football, baseball, girls, pizza, girls, and getting through my classes at college." He gave CJ a weak smile and shook his head. Hoyt walked through the door and over to the pair. He handed a notebook to Matt. "Well, now we know why he did what he did." Matt opened up the notebook and he and CJ started reading. After a few minutes he looked up at Hoyt, who had turned and walked over to the window. "So he saw them attack his mom and kill her because they blamed her for Bell getting busted. But why did he go after the last guy? There were only the four men that he had already killed who stabbed her."

Hoyt shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe he thought all of them were responsible in one way or another. At least the ones who pick up hookers. Kirk Clement's ear was in the handbag that he was carrying. We just heard from the sheriff in Rock Springs, Wyoming. After I called them yesterday they went out and did a thorough search of Peter Beaudine's property. They finally found him – or what was left of him. Apparently he was Corey's first victim. They found him in the loft of the barn. They also discovered that he had taken almost $20,000 from his uncle's bank account. That's why he wasn't working. We found the rest of it in the suitcase that held the women's clothing." He continued to stare out of the window for a minute then turned toward Matt. "How's the arm?"

"It's okay; I'll get this cast off in two weeks." Houston stood up and started toward the door.

"Hey, thanks for your help by the way. We wouldn't have been able to solve it without you two." Hoyt walked over and shook their hands.

"I just wish it had turned out differently." Matt walked out of the office and started off down the hall followed by CJ.

Later that evening, Matt was sitting on the fence down by the pasture petting on the horses. CJ walked down to join him. "I wondered where you had disappeared to." She climbed up on the fence next to him. Matt looked over at her, then back up at the sunset. "He was right, you know. Hoyt? I have been thinking about retiring." CJ nodded her head. "So what have you decided?" He shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch the sunset. "Part of me wants to say to hell with it. Feels like I've paid my dues to society, so to speak."

"And the other part?" She put an arm around him.

"I still feel like I need to keep doing it to help people." He looked over at her. "If you want me to quit, I will CJ. You know I'll do anything you want. You mean that much to me."

She smiled and shook her head. "Matt, I would never ask you to do that. It's like I told Hoyt this morning. What you do is part of you, of who you are. I came into this marriage with my eyes open." She squeezed him and he put his arm around her. "All I ask is that you try to be as careful as possible. One day, we're going to have kids. And I would love to grow old with you and have a pair of matching rocking chairs on the front porch. You will retire eventually, and only you will know when the time is right." He hugged her close as they watched the sun set beyond the mountains.


End file.
